Graffiti is often seen as having become intertwined with hip hop culture and the myriad international styles derived from New York City Subway graffiti, however, there are many other instances of notable graffiti this century. Graffiti has long appeared on building walls, in latrines, railroad boxcars, subways, and bridges. The example with the longest known history, dating back to the 1920s and continuing into the present day, is Texino.
A soldier in Italy (1943–1944)
Engraving of Kilroy on the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C..

Some graffiti had its own poignancy. In World War II, an inscription on a wall at the fortress of Verdun was seen as an illustration of the USA's response twice in a generation to the wrongs of the Old World.
Austin White – Chicago, Ill – 1918
Austin White – Chicago, Ill – 1945
This is the last time I want to write my name here.

During World War II and for decades after, the phrase "Kilroy was here" with an accompanying illustration was widespread throughout the world, due to its use by American troops and ultimately, filtering into American popular culture. Shortly after the death of Charlie Parker (nicknamed "Yardbird" or "Bird"), graffiti began appearing around New York with the words "Bird Lives". The student protests and general strike of May 1968 saw Paris bedecked in revolutionary, anarchistic, and situationist slogans such as L'ennui est contre-révolutionnaire ("Boredom is counterrevolutionary") expressed in painted graffiti, poster art, and stencil art. At the time in the US, other political phrases (such as "Free Huey" about Black Panther Huey Newton) became briefly popular as graffiti in limited areas, only to be forgotten. A popular graffito of the 1970s was the legend "Dick Nixon Before He Dicks You", reflecting the hostility of the youth culture to that U.S. president.

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September 14th, 2013

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